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Friday, 13 August 2010

Projects and keeping your mind off things

Good Morning Racers,

Please help yourself to some almond croissants and a bacon and egg mcmuffin while I begin this morning's topic.

So its been a pretty rubbish month or so for me but I've been far to busy to dwell on things. At present I have a stagnant novel gathering dust in my desk drawer begging for my attention. A few short stories ‘out there’ gasping to make a permanent escape from the confines of the ‘unpublished stories’ folder on my computer. I have just finished and passed a Learn It Creative writing course and am about to embark on an OU course in Creating Writing at the end of October. When I find time I’m entering competitions, blogging and reading whenever I can.

I think it’s important to keep ourselves busy while waiting to hear feedback from agents or editors.

So lets discuss:

1. What projects do you have on the go – are you studying, working on shorties, novels, articles?

2. How do you distract yourself from waiting on feedback from agents/editors/critiques (doesn’t have to be writing related activities)?

11 comments:

So sorry it's been a rubbish month for you Lily. At least things can only get brighter, eh?

Oooh fab question. Well, I haven't subbed my novel yet but last night at supper with Husband I laid out my plans for the novel... I also have a play (radio?) I'd like to write as well as a non-fiction pitch to do. That keeps me busy. Plus I'm thinking about returning to work at the library here and I'm contemplating a LSJ online course.

I do believe (this could be 20 20 vision of someone who's never subbed) that you have to keep writing while you wait to hear back from agents and publishers.

I'm not really writing at the moment, it's impossible with all the family at home during the summer holiday. But I am researching for novel two and itching to get started, even though the plan isn't entirely clear in my mind yet...

I agree that we need to keep going while waiting for news on submissions. If we didn't we'd never write anything, given the time it takes for replies to arrive!

You're impressively busy! I'm trying to get my novel edited into the story I think it is, rather than currently is, so I can finally submit it. I'm in the 'never sent anything out' group. I was asked recently if I thought this was fear of rejection, but it's more a problem of making the time to get on with it!

I'm also hoping that I'd be getting on with the 2nd book whilst the 1st was out there, but who am I kidding? I fear I'll just be waiting for replies, whilst staring at my blank screen...

I hate waiting for news, its like in the olden days when you had to stay next to your old fashioned telephone that went 'ring, ring' to see if that boy you met at the disco will call you. Only now there are ten millions ways for some one to not contact you, so its even worse as in my experience in publishing no news is bad news! For the last few years I've had many writing projects on the go at once so there has never been much time to dwell - all though I still manage it - but on the whole keep working, or plan a wedding at the last minute, that takes your mind off things.

I'll have an almond croissant for my dinner if they haven't gone stale!

Distracting myself while waiting for feedback is hard - I tend to feel less inclined to write for some reason. I find walking really helps and gets my brain ticking over , so I'm trying to do more of that than usual.

I have a new novel just started and am still writing a short story a fortnight for my writing group and that keeps me ticking over - it helps having a deadline.

I'm sorry to hear the past month has been crappy. I'm sure good things are just around the corner.

At the moment I'm concentrating on my current WIP. It's a chick lit novel with a difference - I haven't revealed the difference yet - too shy! Away from writing, I'm about to start an OU course in October in the hopes that I'll get my degree in English Language and Literature.

As for what to do while you're waiting for news, keep writing and keep busy! There's nothing worse than checking emails and the doormat all the time waiting for news. Do anything as long as you're not dwelling on it too much!

I'm sorry you've had such a miserable time of it lately, and agree that it's best to try and keep busy, if at all possible.

I have a few things on the go at the moment, but mainly I'm finishing my edits on a second novel ready to submit it and also send it off to RNA NWS asap.

As soon as that's gone, I want to get back to working on some short stories (I need all the practise I can get on these) and finish the final assignments of my writing course (have been saying this for ages).

Having said that, I do always have a huge number of things on the go and out there at any one time - short stories, articles, article pitches etc- so it's more of a general obsessing rather than obsessing about one specific thing.

It sort of works for me, because with having so many things out there, good news (or equally bad news) could appear at any time.

And I agree with what others have said about getting on with writing the next thing. The more work you have out there, the more chance there is of good news!